My First Blog!

So I finally decided to start a personal blog about my weight-loss journey, to let others know a little about me - where I've come from, what I'm doing now, what has or has not worked for me - and hopefully be an inspiration to someone else.

A little about me:
As far back as I can remember I was always active. I grew up several blocks away from the beach so every weekend my family would ride our bikes down to the beach and make a day of it, ending it with dinner and a sunset. In elementary school, I was "one of the boys" and sports was my life! Kickball, dodge ball, basketball, volleyball, four-squares even just tag... if it involved roughing it up with the boys and running around, I was there! Once I hit the fourth grade (the youngest you could be to try out for the school sports teams) I was the first in line for basketball and volleyball tryouts. I made it on both teams every year till I was a senior in high school. I even played soccer for 5 years at the same time.

My senior year in high school was all about taking it easy and relaxing and this is where my troubles started.

I decided to not play sports that year (2000) and luckily I was able to maintain my weight at 115 lbs. without really doing anything... until I hit college. Between going to classes to study Marine Biology and Hawaiian Studies and working a couple of jobs, my weight started to get out of control. I didn't really realize it until about 2004 and I still cannot remember what brought it to my attention. By then I had already gained about 30 lbs from high school, putting me at about 150 lbs. Even though I realized I gained a lot of weight, I didn't change any of my behaviors. Sure I tried diets here and there, but nothing really stuck or worked. This went on for the next several years until September of 2008. I was weighing in at about 176 lbs. and THAT WAS MY WAKE UP CALL! I refused to reach the 180's so I decided right then and there that I needed to change something.

On September 17, 2008, I came across My Food Diary (MFD), read about it and decided to give it a try. I've done the Weight Watchers thing before and I hated keeping track of points not because it was tedious, but because I didn't know how to calculate them when I went to the grocery store. Since MFD was all calorie based I figured I could do it. I signed up and made a promise to myself that I would at least stick it out until the end of the year - no matter what! Well, 7 months and 30 pounds later, here I am. I've come to learn that this is not a "diet" and rather a lifestyle change and I can't believe how easy it has been to get healthy and fit again. Today, I'm kicking myself in the butt for not doing it sooner!